14 Scam?
Blair spend the entire day in Diagon Alley, Roaming aimlessly on the streets ,He tried to ask some of the shopkeepers for a job ,But was denied because of his minor status. One must be atleast 16 years old to apply for a job. With a sigh Blair continued to stroll on the streets , While roaming aimlessly, He reached near an imposing white Marble Building with "Gringotts Bank" written on top of the Door .Blair didn't even gave it a second look as he didn't have any money to began with . Instead An Alley opposite to the Bank caught his attention .The Alley was densely packed with old shabby shops on both the sides. The atmosphere of the Alley was the exact opposite to that of Diagon Alley ,It was dark ,Creepy and nearly empty. He instincts were telling him not to go there, But his curiosity took the better of him. He walked slowly in the Alley.
The shops in the Alley had many creepy and disturbing things on their display ,Like a Glass bottle filled with blood ,Eyeballs and bones. He continued to walk through the Alley, Observing the content displayed on the shelves of the shops ,Something familiar caught his eyes, it was an old Leather book which was nearly a exact copy of the book he found in the vault of ice, The only difference was that this one was thin, Very thin compared to the book he found in the vault of ice. It was placed in the corner of the display of an old shabby shop ,Which had glass windows all over its front side .There were skulls ,crystal glass eyes and different types of creepy items placed on the display ,Borgin and Burkes written at the top left side of the shop. Blair hurriedly entered the shop. There was no one in the shop ,Just an empty desk and an old door behind it.
"Hello?" Blair slowly called out in the air.
"What is a brat like you doing in my shop?" The door opened to reveal the man ,Standing in the doorway , staring at him with his cold brown eyes , He was tall with long dirty white hair ,Wrinkles all over his face. There was a long scar on his right cheek tracing from his eyes down the cheek.
"What is the price for that book" Blair didn't answer his question instead he pointed his right hand towards the old Leather book placed in the corner.
"Humph ,This piece of crap? ,You can have it in 1 Gallon,10 knuts" The man said while sitting on the chair behind the desk "If you want to buy it than speak up or get the fuck out of my shop"
"I will be back in an hour" Blair hastily walked out of the shop before heading towards the orphanage, It took him 40 minutes to return from orphanage with his first year books, He sold all of his Hogwarts books in Flourish and Blotts Bookseller He got 2 Gallons ,13Knuts for them as they were second hand books.
He walked in a quick pace towards Borgin and Burkes. The shop was empty as before , The shopkeeper was writing something in a book while sitting in the same Place.
"I want to buy that book, But the thing is I only have 1Gallon on me"Blair said faking a nervous expression on his face.
The old man look directly in his eyes ,Images of his cloak turning into green color during the sorting ceremony, The images of him beating the 3 students on the fifth floor ,The images of him meeting tom ,And the image of him pocketing 2gallon,13knuts in his pocket before entering the shop flashed in his mind before stopping. This same incident occurred when he looked in Toms eyes
"Slytherin Indeed"The shopkeeper whispered to himself Before saying" I changed my mind ,now I am going to sell this book for 2 Gallons,13knuts"
"What ,But earlier you said the it was 1Gallons,10knuts ,Why is it 2Gallons now"
"Don't play games with me kid, I will sell this book for 2Gallons ,13 knuts ,No more no less. If you can't afford it then piss off "
Even though Blair was stunned and confused about how did the shopkeeper know the exact amount he had on him .He hastily took out all of his money and placed it on the table before taking the leather book and dashing out of the shop ,Fearing that the shopkeeper would ask for more money.
While on his way back to the Diagon alley ,A Familiar figure Caught his attention ,TOM. He was walking calmly toward Borgin and Burkes , Without paying attention to anyone, It was as if no one was worth his time. Tom Passed by his side without even noticing him and walked calmly in the shop.
It was getting late so Blair decided to return to the orphanage. He was feeling depressed for being ripped off by the shopkeeper, He was also happy as he got the old Leather book. After eating his dinner he went to his room ,opened the thin leather book, There was nothing on it. It was Blank ,Nothing written on it. Blair began to curse loudly before shoving the book in his trunk. He was angry on his stupidity, He should have inspected the book before buying it. Now he lost his first his first year books and got a piece of crap in return.
After Calming himself down, he took out the book he got from the vault of ice and started reading it. The book was filled with extremely advance spells ,Blair won't be able to cast a single spell with his current ability in controlling his magic. He decided to just practice the incantation and wand movement.
The holidays were as uneventful, as was the Christmas, There were no gifts or letters from anyone. Blair didn't fell anything about not getting any gifts, As it was normal to him. He hadn't get a single gift for his entire life. He didn't go to Diagon Alley for the remaining holidays.
After returning to school he continued his practise in learning spells from his compiled list, He didn't attempt to cast any spells from the old leather book, As they were quite advance and dangerous to cast them with his experience. By now most of the anger in his housemates has already been replaced by disgust and indifference. Blair was quite happy with this situation 'Atleast they are not attacking him randomly'
The exams were conducted in the first week of June, Blair studied from the books in the Library ,as he had already sold his book for a piece of crap. Blair got perfect scores in Charms and DADA, But he barely passed potions and scored average in transfiguration.
Right now Blair was standing in front of headmasters office.
"Fizzing Whizbee"
The Gargoyle Statue began to turn around revealing a spiral stairways behind it. The was an Old wooden door at the top of the stairs. The door opened on its own before He could even knock the door . He hesitantly entered the office. The office was a circular room filled with different type of things and shelves filled with books, Most of the books were old and by looking at their condition ,they probably hadn't been used for a while. 'This is probably the personal library of The headmaster '
" I see ,My little collection of books have caught your eyes"Blair turned his head towards the headmaster who was sitting on his chair in the middle of the room.
"Of course sir ,Anyone will be interested in the personal library of the greatest sorcerer of the world."
"You flatter me Mister Bradley, I am just an old man who loves to eat lemon drops" Dumbledore said , Happily Popping a lemon drop in his mouth" Want some?"
" No ,Thank you sir "Blair said calmly while sitting on the chair.
" A shame, Anyway what can I do for you Mister Bradley"
"Sir ,Is it possible for me to stay in Hogwarts for the summer Break."Blair calmly asked the headmaster ,while placing both of the hands on his thighs. If it were upto Blair he would never see The orphanage again ,As the isolation there was nearly unbearable ,Make no mistake Blair was still isolated in Slytherin by his house mates ,it just that the teachers were friendly to him .It was far better then the old Matrons indifference
"I am sorry to say this Mister Bradley , The rules of the school state that as long as it's an extreme case ,I can't let you stay in the school" The twinkles in the headmaster's eyes disappeared completely, Blair could see a hint of sadness as well as remembrance in those old Blue eyes, It was as if the headmaster was recalling some events in his past .
Blair expected this much ,He already knew about the rules in Hogwarts. They both went silent for a while.
"So Mister Bradley ,I heard you topped Charms and DADA....."
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Hogsmeade
Hogwarts express was about to depart for kings cross ,Blair gazed at the direction of Hogwarts one last time before boarding the train ,He couldn't wait to come back to school after the holidays. On the plus side ,He could visit Diagon Alley even though he didn't have any money to spend.
